Hello all,

I'm about to place an order for a R56 and just wondered if anyone out there had wanted to kick themselves for something they wish they had gotten or something they decided they didn't like.

I'm still up in the air about manual vs. automatic...comments?

Leatherette vs Leather...???

My wife wants the countryman, but I'm trying to stick with R56, as it's not a primary family car, but can carry all 4 of us if need be, I'll just have to slide forward a little more...

Anyways, if you have any comments, I'd be glad to read them!

Thanks,

Goliath

 

Manual transmission, hands down.
I have leather, but would love sport cloth as the leather requires some maintenance and it's slick to sit in.

As for the family car, see if you can compromise on the R55 Clubman; still smaller like the R56 hardtop, but has the extra passenger door for easy egress on rear seats.
However, the R60 Countryman is a nice CUV (Compact Utility Vehicle) with characteristics of the R56 / R55.

- Erik

 

No way...I personally don't like the look of the Clubman...all disproportionate if you ask me...

 

Totally understand; but with a family a four, you'll find having true four doors is much preferred than a 3-door hatchback.

- Erik

 

I don't plan to let the kids ride in my car often...haha. In fact, they will ride in it by exception...wife has an Audi Avant, and it hauls them just fine...so no need for them to be in mine!

 

If I ordered a new R56 S model the specs would be as follows.

1.Automatic
2.Technology pack
3.Automatic climate control
4.Leatherette
5.Jcw appearence package
6.Anthracite headliner
7.Piano black dash surface


Skip sunroof(wind noise and rattles)sport suspension(rough ride)Manual trasmission(clutch issues)

 

If I were to do it again, I'd go with an aftermarket armrest rather than the $250 factory Mini option-the lid never stays closed and ,for me, the position isn't quite right.
Just based on my personal aesthetics, I'm really glad we got the chromeline interior trim. Adds just a bit of sparkle and visual interest.

 

I picked up a used 08 MCS auto, and am happy with it. Mine has sport suspension, I would probably skip that. I don't know if there is still a sport seat option, but mine has them and they are great (the dealer will probably have both on the lot for you to try). This is the first car I have had heated seats on, and they are great, depending on where you live. I had a Justa with cloth seats, and would probably stick with the cloth if ordering new. The auto has paddle shifters, as well as the manual control option, I like the auto.

Get the colors and finishes that you like, that is a personal choice. Personally, my laser blue/black exterior with the silver/gray checkered trimline is perfect. I have also seen a pepper white car with redwood leather, and it was stunning. It depends what you like.

Enjoy,
Mike

 

Heated seats and heated mirrors. I believe the two of those together make up the "cold weather package". If I had it to do over again, I'd add those.

I think I would also have gotten body-color roof and mirror caps. Changing those to white or black with vinyl is easy (or putting a different decal on), while changing the roof to Ice Blue (if I decide to do that) isn't going to be that easy.

 

Leather is a big deal, I hate the leatherette in my 2011. I actually have a line on Punch leather in a 2011 salvage car.

 

Definitely manual. I have the leatherette and think it's perfectly fine. Certainly good enough to spend the $1500+ for leather on something else.

If it's not the family car, stick to the R56.

I sometimes wish I had gone with automatic climate control, but I've heard it can only do 2° increments. So it probably would be just as irritating as the manual control.

 

Leatherette is best - wears better than leather and you can still get heated seats - if you see older leather it does not look as good as 'ette

Only get the sport package if you have really good roads to drive on - the 17' wheels are rough on the northern roads

Manual for sure

Bluetooth / Ipod for sure

 

I got my 2008 S with next to no options. Of those I did buy, stability control is the only one I'm glad I sprung for (and it's free now.) Others would have been nice, but I hadn't actually missed them. Basically, the fun of the MINI isn't in the options. It's in the driving.

 

1. Manual (Unless all of your driving is in stop and go traffic)

2. Leather (Treat it well, and it will reciprocate - "Lexol" leather conditioner should do the trick)

3. Winter package (...if you live in northern climes)

 

Look it's your car, I can't tell you what you should get.

I got the cloth seats. They are cooler in summer and warmer in winter. I've got seat heaters.

Transmission choice is personal. I've got the manual, but my last car (Audi B5 A6 Avant) was auto. I really don't do a daily commute or drive in heavy traffic, so a manual isn't a problem for me.

I really wouldn't want to put anybody in the back seat for more than just a couple of minutes. Two people back there is a joke.

I've got the bluetooth with smartphone prep, and the armrest is just fine. I would skip the entire tech/nav, gizmo package. A $150 Garmin with lifetime maps is worlds better when you actually need nav.

Anthracite headliner was a must have. The light color std one looks stupid.

The car just screams for a real limited slip. I just installed a Quaife. (a lsd should still be a factory option or come standard.)

 

I drive in a lot of stop and go traffic, so the automatic was a must for me. Have had several manuals over the years, been there done that.

The Leather is great as long as you take care of it. If you are going to haul dogs around, skip it. One thing with the leather is that you can get colors other than black.

Wish I had gotten the blue tooth interface, other than that I have been very happy with my choices.

 

For me, "must-haves" were ...

- Manual transmission
- Base model ("Justa")

"Nice to haves" ...

- 16" wheels
- Sunroof
- Heated seats

 

I got my '11 MCS slightly used so I didn't have a say in what it came with. However, it had my main "must haves": 1) Horizon Blue exterior and 2) Cold Weather Package. It also came w/ bluetooth, a ipod/usb jack, and leatherette.

Leatherette made anytime in the last decade, at least w/ Euro cars, is actually pretty good. I have no experience w/ domestics to compare to. Leatherette is way easier to maintain than leather and is good enough to fool a lot of people. On the downside, it still gets cold in the winter. The latter is where cloth seats are best. Still, I have leather in my fun car and that's enough for me...plus, heated seats make up for the coldness.

I think my only regret would be not having xenons. My other car has xenons and they are quite nice on those dark roads where deer might pounce. The trade, though, is that halogens only require a bulb replacement. I'll probably swap out to a brighter bulb and add driving lights. For most driving, I just pop the fogs on. They make quite a difference. I suppose in this respect, you could order the factory drivings lights, too.

I'd recommend having bluetooth (if it's not standard...I don't remember). The USB/ipod jack is nice, too. I own no Apple products, but have a stubby 8GB thumb drive loaded w/ mp3's that I leave plugged in. The nice thing about the bluetooth in the MCS is that, unlike my other car, the engine doesn't get loud enough to start clipping the mic. The bluetooth in my other car is worthless because of it.

 

- Manual (better control and more fun)
- Cloth seats - opted for the checkered cloth
- R56 has only two useful seats (driver 6' tall)

 

Ya don't buy a r56 there are far to many problems with the motor carboning on valves, timing chain tensioner, and wrong piston gap, to name but a few. Do a such on here and you will unearth a lot of problems that plage the r56

 

I ordered my '11 in June of last year and got it in July. I'm usually a leather kinda guy, but the leatherette isn't half bad. I don't miss the leather at all.

As for manual/auto? Only you can decide that. I love my manual. I can't imagine driving my MINI with an auto. I have other cars if I want to do that.

If you're only going to be using the back seat for short drives, then I think the R56 would do great. My friend sat in the back seat of mine and he's 5'11 300#. Yeah, he's a big guy buy he fit as long as the person in front of him is nice :-).

My mom is only 4'10 and she fits back there easily. As for other options? Get everything you want. I listened to others on here when ordering mine and I'm glad I did. I LOVE my MINI. Of all the cars I've ever owned, this one is my favorite. Maybe because I made no compromises, maybe because it's a great little car, IDK. I just love driving it.

This is how I ordered mine:

CR/B manual
JCW kit (body kit, wheels, interior trim bits)
Comfort access
Premium
heated seats
leatherette
usb/bluetooth -- I hardly ever use the usb connection, but I do like the bluetooth

And I swapped out the stock rf tires for conti 215/45 non-rf. That was one of the best mods.

 

I have an R56 w/ manual and pretty much every package along with the leather.

My wife and I recently debated getting a larger car and I drove the countryman and I just didn't like it. I feel like if I had never driven my R56, I would have liked it just fine, but after owning the hardtop, it just feels too big and not very sporting. For waht it is, its a great car, just not for me.

I decided on leather just because I have had bad leatherette experiences with BMW seats in the past and didn't want that sticky feeling of sitting on the vinyl on a hot summer day when I could have the perforated leather. Really the leatherette in the MINI is quite good, so this is just a personal preference. As someone else mentioned, $1500 goes a long way toward other options, like the sunroof if you want that, etc.

The manual in the MINI is fantastic. I couldn't pass it up. Again, another personal preference, but if you like to drive stick, this is one of the better ones out there. Well defined gates, easy to shift, no rubbery feeling at all, great clutch take-up. The auto is very good and if you live in a high-traffic area or have a long commute it might suit you well, but I live right next to NYC and have never had an issue with traffic and this manual.

Hope that helps. Either way, you can't go wrong with the R56.

 

Chosing your MINI is very personal. I like mine as configured but I made compromises and mistakes. I wanted cloth but didn't like the sport seats so went with Leatherette. I can't drive stick so got an auto. I wanted the S power (All guys want more power) but not the issues, so got the Justa. I got the after market armrest because the MINI one sucks. I stuck with the std healiner instead of Anthracite headliner. I felt it made interior to dark.

Mistakes I made were: Changing my mind about strips after the car was ordered and built. Strips from factory would have cost $100 versus $250 at the dealer (I call this my $150 mistake). So decide now. The other was side scuttles. I had the dealer do mine and it cost me $214 installed. The parts cost $151 at Dealer (They are cheaper on amazon and maybe other places). So I paid $63 for the install that takes less than 20 minutes.


So it is all up to you. I hope this helped and wasn't too late.

 

My 11 MCS is fully optioned with all four of the packages available at the time. My must haves were the Green Lounge Leather and Sunroof. That said, I really love the Cold Weather package and my Xenon headlights with the adaptive feature. I don't think I could live without them. Bluetooth is also very much appreciated. My only disappointment is the Lounge Leather isn't holding up as well as I think it should. I have a couple wear marks on the side of the seat back bolster from getting in and out of the car. I think today, I'd look at the other leather options or the leather/cloth options. If I really wanted to save money, I'd go checkered cloth. My son has that and it is holding up well on his 09 MCCS. I know many folks like the leatherette, but let's call a spade a spade - it's vinyl and IMO, not good looking or comfortable vinyl either, and anyone who thinks it looks like leather is fooling themselves.

 

Biggest Hit: Getting the leather. I love the smell, even after four years.

Biggest Miss: I should have gotten a better stereo.The stock speakers and head unit are disappointing.